connecticut bar foundation - ctbarfdn.org 8 - spring 2017 - final.pdf · model that combines legal...

Building a Foundation for the Future

Serving the Bench, Bar, and Connecticut Citizens since 1952

CONNECTICUT BAR FOUN DATION

Issue 8, Spring 2017

2017 CBF RECEPTION AND JAMES W. COOPER FELLOWS ANNUAL MEETING

THANK YOU!

2017 CBF RECEPTION AND

JAMES W. COOPER FELLOWS ANNUAL

MEETING SPONSORS

Platinum Sponsors

Day Pitney LLP Thomaston Savings Bank

Wiggin and Dana LLP

Gold Sponsors

Kronholm Insurance Services, a division of Brown & Brown of CT

Murtha Cullina LLP Pullman & Comley LLC

Webster Bank

Silver Sponsors

McCarter & English, LLP Verrill Dana LLP

Bronze Sponsors

Freed Marcroft, LLC Gallo & Robinson, LLC

Howard, Kohn, Sprague & FitzGerald, LLP

McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, LLP

Clockwise from top left: Keynote speaker Rachel B. Tiven; CBF President James T. (Tim)

Shearin and Distinguished Service Award recipient Louis R. Pepe; Legal Services Leadership

Award recipient Raphael L. Podolsky and CLS Executive Director Steve Eppler-Epstein; and

Special Recognition Award recipients Representative William Tong, Senate Democrats Chief Legal

Counsel Joseph P. Quinn, Jr., representing Senate Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney, and Attor-

ney Eric D. Coleman.

Over 200 Fellows and guests attended the 2017 CBF Reception and James W.

Cooper Fellows Annual Meeting at The Hartford Club on April 25, 2017. Rachel B.

Tiven, CEO of Lambda Legal, gave a remarkable keynote speech, weaving accounts

of historic cases prosecuted and defended by her organization over the past several

decades into a message of hope, determination, and the need to persevere in the on

-going fight to protect civil rights and achieve equality for all Americans.

Other highlights included speeches paying tribute to the work of several esteemed

honorees (pictured above), who distinguished themselves through their efforts on

behalf of civil legal aid, the Connecticut legal community, and the public. Congrat-

ulations to the 2017 CBF honorees, and thank you for your service to the legal pro-

fession and citizens of Connecticut.



JOHN A. SPEZIALE ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION SYMPOSIUM


Above: Bill Logue, Keynote Speaker; Below: Near SRO capacity

Above: Post-symposium, Irish-themed Reception

“This symposium was

very valuable and time

well spent. Experi-

enced planners, devel-

opers, attorneys, and

environmental protec-

tion advocates shared

insights and lessons

l e a r n e d

in resolving land use

disputes without the

risk, effort, expense,

and lost opportunity

delays that the litigation

process necessarily

entails.”

- Attorney Ed O’Hanlan,

Robinson+Cole

The Tenth John A. Speziale Alternative Dispute Resolution Symposium titled “Finding Solid Ground: Environmental and Land Use Dispute Resolution in Connecticut” was held March 17, 2017, at Quinnipiac University School of Law (QUSL) and highlighted creative and effective conflict management. The audience of over 150 people was comprised of lawyers, judges, devel-opers, public officials, environmental activists, property owners, land planners, lenders, design professionals, and consultants. Speakers and panelists included: Hon. Marshall Berger, Khara Dodds, Gary Greenberg, Eric Hammerling, Daniel Klau, Bill Logue, Duncan MacKay, Dwight Merriam, Edward O’Hanlan, Robin Pearson, Hiram Peck, Marjo-rie Shansky, Elizabeth Verna, William Voelker, Diane Whitney, and Joseph Wil-liams. The small group discussion leaders on the topics of Affordable Housing, Environmental Justice, Open Space, Regionalism, Sea Level Rise, and Small Town Dilemmas were: Erin Boggs, Rebecca French, Marianne Engelman Lado, Anika Singh Lemar, Bill Logue, Gail McTaggart, Margaret Miner, and Lyle Wray.

We wish to acknowledge and thank Dean Jennifer Brown and QUSL for hosting the sympo-sium and QUSL student Jessica Gouveia for helping the symposium planning committee and volunteering to serve as a recorder at the symposium. Last but certainly not least, we thank the Symposium steering and planning committees -- especially chairs Dwight Merriam and Charlie Pillsbury, who provided excellent leadership throughout the planning process.



On April 20th, over 100 attorneys, judges and law school students attended the Diversity Symposium co-sponsored by the Connecticut Bar Foundation James W. Cooper Fellows and the Connecticut Bar Association held at the UCONN School of Law in Hartford. The symposium continued the meaningful dialogue initiated at the Connecticut Bar Association’s Inaugural Diversity Summit last year and included presentations and panel discussions on Implicit Bias: The Silent Killer of Diversity in the Legal Profession; Diversity Metrics: Is There A Role For Metrics In The Ef-fort; and Facilitating Conversations Around Diversity: Observations, Stories and Testimonials. We were extremely pleased to have had as presenters Justice Richard A. Robinson of the Connecticut Supreme Court; Judge Maria Araujo Kahn of the Connecticut Superior Court; Dalié Jiménez, Associate Professor of Law, UCONN School of Law; Gabrielle Lyse Brown, Director, Diversity and Inclusion, New York City Bar; Bren-da J. Page, Vice President and Associate General Counsel, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.; Cecil J. Thomas, Co-Chair, CT Bar Association Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Greater Hartford Legal Aid; and Dr. Anne F. Farrell, Director of Research, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago. Karen DeMeola, CBA President-Elect, Assistant Dean for Enrollment and Students, UCONN School of Law; Asker A. Saeed, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver, and Jacobson LLP; and Donald P. Tutson, Jr., Tutson Law Offices, served as panel moderators. Many thanks to UCONN School of Law Dean Timothy S. Fisher and his staff for hosting the event. We are grate-ful for the amazing support of the symposium sponsors and also for the leadership of CBA President Monte E. Frank and CBF President James T. (Tim) Shearin. Finally, we wish to acknowledge and thank the efforts and great work of Robert C. Hinton, who presented the symposium program to the CBF Fellows Education and Pro-gram Committee and served as co-chair of Symposium Planning Committee; and to co-chair Karen DeMeola, for her tireless work and tremendous help with coordinating the logistics with UCONN School of Law. Congratulations to all of the members of the Planning Committee for organizing and presenting a very successful program!

DIVERSITY SYMPOSIUM


Above: UCONN Law School Dean Timothy S. Fisher, CBA President Monte E. Frank, and CBF

President James T. (Tim) Shearin; Below: Dr. Anne Farrell and Donald P. Tutson Above: Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Richard A. Robinson; Below: Attendees.



Fellows Roundtables

Update on Fellows and Foundation Projects

Planning for two symposia is currently underway. The Third Judge Mark R. Kravitz Symposium will take a critical look at litigation today and consider whether it is a social good that promotes democracy or has become inim-ical to American society. We are working with UCONN Law School Professor Alexandra D. Lahav on the program with the goal of holding the symposium at UCONN Law School sometime this Fall. The CBF Fellows and Quinnipiac University School of Law (QUSL) Probate Law Journal are co-sponsoring a Probate Law Symposium on the topic of unsupervised probate administration to be held at QUSL on April 20, 2018. The full-day program will combine an academic presentation on a related journal article and several panel discussions by expert probate practitioners. Probate Court Administrator Paul J. Knierim and QUSL Professor Jeffrey A. Cooper are co-chairing the symposium steering committee. Additional details about these symposia will be included in future issues and other notifica-tions.

The 2016-2017 Quintin Johnstone High School Essay Contest generated 116 entries from 53 schools, and 153 Fellows judged the entries. The final judging has been completed and at the time of this writing, contest winners and their teachers and principals are being notified. The contest winner will receive $2,000 and the two runners-up will receive $1,000 each. The students, school contest coordinators, and principals will receive awards that will be presented at a ceremony presided over by Connecticut Supreme Court Justices at the Connecticut Su-preme Court on Wednesday, June 7, 2017 at 3:30 p.m. Fellows are encouraged to attend the ceremony and celebrate with the contest winners. The inaugural New Fellows Orientation will take place on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 6 p.m., at the law offices of Robinson+Cole in Hartford. Fellows from the classes of 2016 and 2017 are invited to attend and meet CBF and Fel-lows leaders and CBF staff. The orientation will provide an overview of Fellows programs and projects and offer the attendees the opportunity to ask questions and to share ideas for new programs.


On March 23, 2017, the CBF Fellows sponsored its 13th Roundtable at the UCONN School of Law. Co-hosted by Dean Timothy S. Fish-er and Barry F. Armata, over 30 lawyers, law school professors and law school students engaged in a conversation about “Choosing Your Path: Litigation, Transactional, & More.” Discussion leaders Hon. Holly Abery-Wetstone, Paul T. Czepiga, Susan A. Hays, Robert C. Hinton, William J. Jordan, John L. Laudati, Prof. Jennifer Mail-ly, Meredith O’Keefe, and Prof. Jessica Rubin helped future lawyers as they start their careers by explaining how and why they chose their respective legal career paths.

Coming Soon - A Guide for Gifts to the CBF

The AJTL ran in the 2017 Hartford Coun-ty Bar Foundation Joseph J. Cassidy Memorial 5K on May 6, 2017. Chris Do-novan, Sue Nofi (who won 2nd place

in the Women’s Division), Sandy San Emeter-io, Alexis Smith, Jamey Bell, Don Philips and Liz Drummond led the AJTL team into 2nd place in the largest law firm category.

Access to Justice League Runs Again

If you could do one thing to make justice more ac-

cessible to all, what would you do? Making a legacy

gift to the CBF is a wonderful way to be remem-

bered or to recognize someone important in your

life that will be appreciated and honored by those

the CBF serves and helps. “A Guide for Gifts to the

Connecticut Bar Foundation” will be published in

June, 2017. Please look for the announcement com-

ing soon.

A Guide for Gifts to the Connecticut Bar Foundation



Leadership Banks

The CBF extends its appreciation to its Leadership Banks for paying the highest rate on IOLTA balances and generously waiving service fees. The CBF is also grateful for the many attorneys and law firms who place their IOLTA accounts with a Leadership Bank. Such patronage results in greater funding to civil legal aid providers and helps to increase legal representation and provide legal services to low-income Connecticut residents. Thank you!

Bank of New York Mellon ● Start Community Bank ● Sterling Bank

Thomaston Savings Bank ● Torrington Savings Bank

Washington Trust Company ● Westfield Bank


LEGAL SERVICES PROVIDER SPOTLIGHT—CENTER FOR CHILDREN’S ADVOCACY

The Center for Children’s Advocacy (CCA) was established in 1997 to fight for poor children’s civil rights, including rights to appropriate services from the juvenile justice, education, child welfare and health care systems. Based in Hartford with satellite offices in Bridgeport and New Haven, CCA serves more than 900 children each year.

CCA’s indigent young clients are some of the State’s most vulnerable children: children with disabilities facing dis-crimination, young victims of abuse, students pushed out of school and into the juvenile justice system, homeless children, and children with chronic health conditions that are exacerbated by poverty. It uses a dynamic advocacy model that combines legal services, legal rights training for youth, parents and professionals, and advocacy for sys-tem reform. CCA partners with non-legal organizations to make attorneys available to children, at CCA’s offices in hospitals and schools and by traveling to facilities and community programs throughout Connecticut. The legal ser-vices programs also test new, innovative models of advocacy. CCA is currently marshalling the resources of the legal community to provide pro bono representation to abandoned and undocumented immigrant children, and is provid-ing legal services to homeless youth through CCA’s Mobile Legal Office inside a customized van.

CCA’s system reform priorities target problems that impact thousands of poor Connecticut children. Through litiga-tion, administrative advocacy and legislative advocacy, CCA generates reforms that increase educational opportunity, improve child health, eliminate racial and ethnic disparities, and reduce youth homelessness and juvenile justice in-volvement.

CCA’s most significant challenge is maintaining funding to support its programs. It minimizes its reliance on state and federal funding to ensure its advocacy efforts are not constrained by funding needs. As a result, CCA relies on donations from individuals and foundation grants.

Attorneys who would like more information are encouraged to go to the CCA website at cca-ct.org or contact Execu-tive Director Martha Stone at [email protected].

connecticut bar foundation - ctbarfdn.org 8 - spring 2017 - final.pdf · model that combines legal...

Documents